Cotton-chopper.



PAT'ENTED SEPT. 11, 1906.

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ITED STATES RUFUS A. SLIGH, OF SLIGHS, SOUTH CAROLINA.

COTTON- Specification of Letters Patent.

CHOPPER.

Patented Sept. 11, 1906.

Application filed December 16,1905. Serial No. 291.995.

To (Z/ZZ whom, it rrmy concern:

Be it known that I, RUFUs A. SLIGH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Slighs, in the county of N ewberry and State of South Carolina, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Cotton-Choppers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to cotton-choppers of that type in which a longitudinally-arranged shaft is rotated through bevel-gears by running wheels, and said shaft is provided with revolving hoes or cutting-blades that chop transversely across the row of cotton-plants to properly thin the same.

My invention consists in the special construction and arrangement of this revolving member which is provided with cuttingbladcs and alternating harrow-teeth for the purpose hereinafter described.

It also consists in the special construction and arrangement of adjusting devices as hereinafter described with reference to the drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective View of my improved cotton-chopper, partly broken away; Fig. 2, a plan view, and Fig. 3 is a detail.

In the drawings, F F represent an outer framework composed of iron bars whose sides are parallel and whose front ends are arranged convergently and connected to an upturned draft attachment F The side bars at their rear ends are connected to or formed integrally with a cross-bar. Between the side bars are arranged two other parallel longitudinally-arranged bars F F, which at their forward ends are secured to the convergent front ends of the frame F and at their rear ends are connected to a cross-bar F connected at its ends to the two outer side bars of the frame F. A short cross-bar F connects the two inner side bars F In the front part of the main frame, as thus constructed, is arranged in bearings the transverse drive-shaft A, having running wheels l/V WV, which travel on the ground and rotate the shaft. Between the bars F F this shaft has a rigidly-attached bevel gearwheel a, which meshes with a small bevel gear-wheel b on the forward end of a longitudinally-arranged shaft B, j ournaled in bearings in the cross-bars F 2 F 3 and the rear cross-bar of the frame F.

011 the longitudinal-shaft B are secured the cotton chopping and harrowing devices. The cotton-chopping devices consist of pairs of radial arms C, rigidly fixed to the shaft and connected at their outer ends by blades 0, arranged longitudinally to the line of draft. These blades have shanks at the ends that are detachably and adj ustably bolted to the arms C. Alternating with the chopper-arms O are the other radial arms D, which at their outer ends are connected by a longitudinallyarranged bar D, perforated to receive harrow-teeth d, which latter are adjustable and detachable in said holes by means of suitable nuts.

To the main frame F are connected handles H H, which near their ends are connected to the rear portion of the frame by standards h h and are connected to each other by a cross-bar R.

E E are cultivator-shovels, which are connected to the main frame in front and rear of the chopping devices.

I am aware that it is not new to operate chopping devices cutting transversely to the row by means of a shaft connected in front to and driven by bevel-gears deriving motion from a transverse shaft bearing running wheels, and I do not claim this as my invention. I would state that the harrowing devices arranged alternately with the choppingblades enable me to chop out a given section of plants and harrow the section left. In other words, the cotton is thinned and harrowed at the same time. These harrowteeth may also be set so as to serve the purpose of throwing out of the row ahead of the chopping-blades all stones and heavy clods which would be liable to injure or prevent the proper action of the blades. Furthermore, the detachable character of the harrow-teeth and chopping-blades permit either of them to be used alone, if desired. It will be un derstood that any number of harrow-teeth may be removed to suit the character of the work. The cultivator-teeth E E also cultivate and hill up the row as the machine passes along.

To permit the chopping and harrowing devices to be thrown in or out of gear, a lever Z is fulcrumed on a bar U between the uprights for the handles. The lower end of this lever is slotted or forked and embraces a spool or grooved collar V, which swivels loosely on the rear end of the chopper-shaft B, as seen in Fig. 3. This spool is by means of pins or flanges on the shaft B prevented from moving longitudinally on the shaft. The forward end of the shaft B is rovided with a rigidlyattached clutch mem er in the form of crosspins 1), which are adapted to drop into corresponding clutch-seats in the forward end of the hub of bevel-pinion b "when shaftB is drawn to the rear, thus locking the pinion b and shaft B together for the rotation of the chopping devices. When, however, the shaft B is moved forward, the clutch-pins I) leave the pinion b, as seen in Fig. 3, and then the pinion b, which is always in mesh with a, runs freely on the shaft B without turning it. The shaft B is moved backward and forward by the lever Z, whose upper end is guided and held by an arch-bar X, having seats K and L to receive the lever and hold it in its two positions. The arch-bar X is held at one end by a cross-rod R between the handles and at the other end by a cross-bar Y between the handles at a point lower down. The lever Zis held in its seats K or L by means of a spring W. To vary the speed and time of action of the chopping and harrowing devices, the bevel-gears a and b may be made in sets of different relative sizes.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

1. A cotton-chopper, comprising a transversely-arranged driving-shaft with bevelgear, a horizontal longitudinally-arranged and longitudinally-adjustable shaft bearing revolving cutters and having at its forward end a loose bevel-gear permanently engaged with the bevel-gear of the transverse shaft, and having a clutch-face, a clutch member rigidly connected to the shaft and adapted to lock or unlock the bevel-gear and the shaft by a longitudinal movement of the shaft and means connecting with the shaft in rear of the cutters for adjusting the shaft and cutters bodily and together.

- 2. A cotton-chopper comprisin a transversely-arranged driving-shaft with bevelgear, a horizontal longitudinally-arranged and longitudinally-adjustable shaft bearing revolving cutters and having at its front end a rigid clutch member, a loose bevel gearwheel on said shaft permanently engaged with the gear of the transverse shaft and having a clutch-face fitting the clutch member of the shaft, said clutch being operable bythe longitudinal movement of the shaft, and a lever arranged between the rear portion of the handles and having a swiveling connection with the rear end of the cutter-shaft behind the cutters.

3. A cotton-chopper comprising a transversely-arranged driving shaft with bevelgear, a horizontal longitudinally-arranged and longitudinally-adjustable shaft bearing revolving cutters and having at its front end a rigid clutch member, a loose bevel gearwheel on said shaft permanently engaged with the bevel-gear of the transverse shaft and having a clutch-face fitting the clutch member of the shaft, an upright lever fulcrumed in the framework and having at its lower end a swiveling connection withthe rear end of the cutter-shaft and behindthe cutters, two cross-bars between the handles, an arch-bar supported by the two cross-bars and locking devices for holding the lever to its adjustment on the arch-bar.

4. A cotton-chopper, consisting of a frame,

a longitudinally-arranged shaft with suitable driving mechanism, pairs of radial arms fixed to said shaft, a longitudinally-arranged cutting-blade having shanks adjustably attached to the outer ends of one pair of arms and a longitudinally-arranged bar fixed to the alternating pair of arms and provided with detachable harrow-teeth and nuts for securing them in the bar.

RUFUS A. SLIGH. Witnesses:

L. Q. FULLERs,

F. W. HIGGINS. 

